Giving his view of the tax announcements in the Budget, Barry Beeston, corporate sales director at Nissan Motors GB, commented: ‘We welcome the 2014 Budget as set out by the Chancellor for the measures that support fleet drivers and operators; in particular those that place electric vehicles as a more attractive proposition.

‘Company Car Tax remaining at a flat rate for low and zero emission vehicles, namely those sub 50g CO2/km, and the extension of van benefit charge support for zero emission commercial vehicles up until April 2020 will help put electric vehicles, such as the LEAF and our new e-NV200 electric van, at the front of the mind of forward thinking fleet managers.

‘We hope the Government continues to provide long-term support for the introduction of electric vehicles due to benefits associated with zero tail pipe emissions, such as helping preserve air quality levels when vehicles work in our towns and city centres.’

His comments come as organisations including the BVRLA and Tusker say the Chancellor has missed a chance to incentivise ULEV take-up.